G. Chambers Williams III: Evoque makes its debut at the top

Range Rover’s all-new coupelike sport utility vehicle is now on sale — and already has picked up a major award: Motor Trend magazine’s “2012 SUV of the Year.”

The Evoque (pronounced “e-voke”) comes in two models — a five-door sedan and a three-door coupe, with a starting price of $43,995 (including freight) for the sedan and $44,995 for the coupe.

Available at Land Rover of San Antonio on Interstate 10 West, the Evoque is the “smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever produced,” the manufacturer says.

Two coupe and three sedan trim levels are offered, each with its own identity. They are the Pure (with the base prices), Dynamic ($51,495, sedan; $52,895, coupe) and Prestige ($52,395, sedan only).

A product of the United Kingdom’s legendary off-road brand, the Evoque is aimed at hip, youthful, upscale consumers and intended mostly for the urban jungle, not the Outback.

It features a sleek, swept-back exterior with lots of glass, including the optional panoramic sunroof.

The Motor Trend award, announced this week, ranks the Evoque over other new SUV models for 2012.

“It is a significant achievement for the Range Rover Evoque to be deemed the best new SUV on the market by Motor Trend,” said Andy Goss, president of Jaguar Land Rover North America.

“Our entire U.K. team, responsible for the engineering, design and build of this cutting-edge luxury vehicle, was invaluable in the success of this model. We know our customers in the United States will share our excitement over this award for the newest addition to the Land Rover family.”

The Evoque, assembled in the United Kingdom along with other Land Rover and Range Rover models, is available around the globe, in 160 counties.

Land Rover and Jaguar, the premium sports car brand, are now subsidiaries of India’s Tata Motors, which bought the two companies from Ford Motor in 2009. Both brands are distributed here by Jaguar Land Rover North America.

The Evoque makes use of lightweight materials, including composite front fenders and tailgate and an aluminum hood, and has what Land Rover calls an “environmentally conscious design.”

Powering the vehicle is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 240 horsepower, connected to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Land Rover says this engine gives the performance of a six-cylinder with the fuel-efficiency of a four. EPA ratings are 19 mpg city/28 highway, a great improvement over the 12/18 ratings of the full-size Range Rover models, which come only with V-8 engines.

Evoque’s chassis was designed to deliver “dynamic and agile handling,” something that never has been a characteristic of the traditionally boxy Range Rover SUVs.

Permanent all-wheel drive is standard, but the Evoque doesn’t have the same off-road capabilities of its Range Rover brethren. They come with four-wheel-drive systems that include low-range gearing for serious trail driving.

The Evoque has all-weather, all-surface capability, Land Rover says. Standard is the Land Rover Terrain Response system, which has settings for different driving conditions such as “snow” and “sand.”

Its all-wheel-drive system is similar to that of the Land Rover LR2, which also doesn’t have the two-speed transfer case that provides low-range gearing.

Luxury is the hallmark of the Range Rover brand, with prices that peak above $100,000, so the Evoque has plenty of premium amenities.

But at less than half the cost of the top Range Rover models, the Evoque is targeting a new group of customers who aren’t quite ready for vehicles in the six-figure class.

The LR2 is less expensive than the Evoque and intended to appeal to the same consumer. Its starting price is just more than $37,000, but it doesn’t carry the Range Rover name, which always has been the premium brand in the Land Rover lineup.

Land Rover began in Britain in 1948 and introduced the Range Rover brand in 1970. It officially went on sale in the United States in 1987 and was the only model available here until 1993, when other vehicles carrying the Land Rover brand began arriving.

The best-selling Land Rover model in recent years has been the Discovery, which now is called the LR4. Base price of the LR4 is $48,500.

There are three different Range Rover models. They include the midlevel Range Rover Sport and the high-end models known simply as Range Rover.

At 171 inches long, the Evoque is 17 inches shorter and 7 inches lower than the Range Rover Sport and 24.8 inches shorter than the Ranger Rover.

And at 3,582 pounds, the Evoque is more than a ton lighter than the Ranger Rover (2,115 pounds less). It’s 6 inches shorter than the LR2 and 673 pounds lighter.

There is room for up to five passengers in the Evoque, even in the three-door model. The cargo area behind the rear seat can be expanded by folding down the seatback.

With the five-door model, rear passengers have their own doors; in the coupe, they have to go in through the front. The cabin has a premium interior with soft-touch leather surfaces, along with a full array of standard or available luxury amenities and technology, including a surround-view camera system similar to that on some Infiniti vehicles.

The Pure model has interiors in neutral colors to highlight the pure, simple forms of the cabin architecture, the company says. There are soft-touch, wrapped materials on the major surfaces, along with brushed aluminum trim.

With the Prestige version comes “ultimate Range Rover luxury,” Land Rover says. It has unique 19-inch wheels and sparkling metallic details. Optional are 20-inch wheels and a leather interior. The Prestige has two-tone color schemes, with premium leather, twin-needle stitching and real wood and metal finishes.

The Dynamic model comes with 19- or 20-inch wheels and unique bumpers, sills, grille and tailpipes. Also included are a premium interior with perforated leather seats and unique sports detailing. Contrasting roof and spoiler colors are available, as well.

Among the safety features are front seat-mounted side air bags; front knee air bags; roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for both rows; electronic parking brake; antilock disc brakes, with emergency brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution; and corner brake control, designed to prevent the rear end from breaking loose from the pavement when braking while cornering.